Weekend update

This is a quick weekend update from Malta. Thanks to all my faithful followers of this blog and for checking from time to time. Temperatures are warming up in Malta, which have taken a toll on my voice especially. It happens to me every time I visit Malta which has 100% humidity. However, I was still able to give my talk to the ladies club, and I had to thank them for being so quite during my presentation, and then they treated me to a nice dinner with 8 other girls, friends of my sisters. That was the easiest part, since you can  only imagine who did 99% of the talking. I saved my voice to be able to say Mass this morning, and again preach with the help of my IPad for a few life-saving notes.

My nephew Peter has been helping me with adding more apps to the IPod and IPad, including some Word Games, a Bible, the Breviary, the new Roman Missal, a Catholic Prayers application and other interesting little gizmos like Google Earth, Radio Tuner and much more. I also rode the new buses which were introduced last July. The complaints have finally subsided, since there were plenty of them in the first few months of their long-awaited introduction. The only problem is that some of them are too big for the narrow streets that dominate most of the island's little towns and villages. I admire these drivers, as well as my brother and sister and sister-in-law who have been my chauffeurs so far, who can maneuver so skilfully through these roads, with cars parked on every side, and parking anywhere just about impossible.

We are also in the process of going through some items and things that my parents accumulated over the decades since they moved with us into this house in 1956. It's not easy to part from so many memories and memorabilia that we grew up with. Since I moved to the USA in 1981, my sisters and brother have more stuff here than I do, but still wherever you look there are memories of my parents whose handprint and footprint is still visible in everything we have around the house.

Broad beans with their pods

I am especially enjoying the typical Maltese food, which my sister Rosemarie is cooking for us. Among the favorites are rabbit, leg of lamb, octopus stew, fresh Maltese bread, salads and broad beans and strawberries, now in season. Broad beans are not common in the USA and they grow in abundance here in Malta. Last week I came across an older man who was quietly eating his lunch of a some bread with corned-beef and broad beans. It was one of those typical Norman Rockwell scenes, and when I asked him if I could take his photo, he not only obliged but insisted that I take two of his broad beans, also known as fayva beans.
They are great as snacks, and excellent with a sliced piece of bread smeared with tomato paste, a slice of tomato and cucumber, some salt and pepper and a sprinkle of olive oil. I am hoping to download a photo of these broad beans, this way you can see and visualize what I'm talking about.

Broad Beans, known also as Fayva Beans

On Thursday I'll be off to Rome. Stay tuned.